Mysteries of Fate

Campaign 12 - Sam J
Story - Technical - Sessions - Calendar - Secrets

The characters have been at the guild for between 6-12 months before the expedition is set to happen. What were the characters doing in that time? How did they meet? were any friendships or rivalries set forth before the journey began?

As the day of departure approaches the newly established party begins to get ready to head out. Everyone has already prepared, shopping has been completed and the guild has given out complimentary gear such as armor and weapons sent out to each members place of living. Along with that complimentary gear comes a letter and it says the following

“dear adventurer, the day approaches where you will go out and claim this land in our name, you have been handpicked among many others so take great pride in yourself and don’t forget you worked hard to get to this moment. Here is some free gear compliments of the guild to assist you on your mission. Next Tuesday at dawn we shall set sail from the port city of Ferabreeze, please be there or you will be left behind. Good luck on your quest, and make sure to also have a good time while on the mission, in our line of work you never know what happy moment may be your last.”

After reading the letter you all feel inspired and ready to take on this mission. No matter what your goals are, power, revenge, food, and just about anything else you feel as though this is a huge step in the right direction. In the following days you tie up any loose ends back home, such as saying bye to family and friends, making pet sitter accommodations, and maybe sharing a moment with someone you hold dear to you, either way it’s time to say goodbye to your old life for the foreseeable future. The day approaches quickly and the morning of the day we set sail Karel is first to make it to the boat, as he has been there for a week stocking the boat and making sure all arrangements have been made and prepared for the journey. You all come along one by one eventually the whole team is aboard and we are just about ready to set sail. You all look at each other and realize this will be your family for the foreseeable future and you’d do right to get on everyone’s good side. Silas stands up and pulls a bottle of champagne out his bag “My teacher gave this to me and I think now’s a good time as any to open it”

He pours each drink one by one and hands it off to the team before raising his glass and offering a toast “here’s to new friendships and adventures, May we be blessed with good fortune on this mission”

Just as he says that the ship captain blows the horn and we officially set sail to our destination.

Hero Points

• Paprika
• Terry

“All Hands to Sations!!, All Hands o Stationssss!!” The Crack of Thunder overhead as the beating of cold rain batters the party's soaked clothes, The ship has encountered a storm seemingly out of nowhere as the crew are desperately trying to keep themselves and the ship afloat and on course. another snap of thunder and the bright flash of lightning strikes the mast, the flames quickly extinguished by a flood of rain. The Captain and helmsmen both fighting for their lives keeping the wheel steady. There is a scream of one of the crewmembers as they fall overboard, others call out but there is no use, the maelstrom of the ocean has already swallowed them whole, sunk into the black waves. Looking up against the howling wind, the clouds are swirling above, the party haven't been out to sea long but they all know this is no natural storm.
Things are looking bad, they may perish at sea before even reaching the Old world. but everyone of the crew refuses to give up, tieing down suppliers, hosting sails. what is the party doing to help the ship?

Silas uses his mighty strenght to take hold of the flailing sil ropes and tie them down to the ship

Bon uses his medical skills to patch up some of the wounded crew members.

Terry climbs to the cows nest and keeps an eye out for the waves ahead shouting back updates to the helmsmen

Paprika goes bellow deck to tie down the supplies before they get loose and casue major damage

Shao ties wrangles the cannons before they break loose and takes a moment to ready ammo encase what ever casued this storm comes out for a fight

Istite ties down soem supplies on deck using his strength to overcome the howling storm

Karel also manages to tie down some supplies using her nimble hands to get some of the smalller loose items

The party fight for their lifes against the storm, things are chaos but there is some glimmer of hope the party will pull through. but then things get darker as the crew catch something rising out of the water, something living, larger than any creature they have ever seen before.
Like a horrid nightmare the captain's shout pierces through the raging storm. “Kraaaaakeennnnn”
The ships bell rings out, crisis alert, Uter dread fills much of the crew as some can't help but stare at the titanic creature. Tentacles start rising from the ocean's surface. there are only a few moments left, before a tentacle strikes the ship and everything goes black.

In these few moments the party find themselves reminiscing about the time before they got on this ship. Back in the Banker's Office, Lined up along side each other, Guild Members before two of the Guild masters. getting one final pep talk before the international journey began, They tell the party the basics of what the expedition is about, what the goals are, what to expect and the supplies that are being sent with them. They ask you to introduces themselves, giving an official greeting to the other Guild members so everyone knows who they are working with and why.

Paprika introduces herself first, the cook

Bon Introduces himself, the doctor, well dressed, complete covered

Karel introduces herself, The mage, new member, dressed in yellow

Terry introduces himself, the navigator, FLoral dragon

Istite introduces himself, very stone face, goliath lacking Minera, The celestial takes notice.

Silas Introduces himself, the muscle Banker asks his family name,

Shao Introduces himself last, The monk

This slowly start to come back into focus for our adventurers. hearing the sound of waves softly lapping at the sore, feeling the soft sand against their faces, in their hands. the warmth of the sun coating them as the begin to regain conscious. waking up and looking around, by some act of the Pantheon they managed to survive that Kraken attack, but not all. They see others of the crew floating face down in the water or impaled on bits of wrecked ship. The party was lucky, Or perhaps truly an act of intervention.
All around the shore is wreckage of the guild's ship, large parts caught on the rocks further off shore while smaller bits litter the sand, Broken crates, tangles of rope and torn sails.

The party take sock of their situation, sounding off when they hear or see the pained movement of two other survivors. two (2) Polder who are recognised being on that ship, though both are in a bad way. Bon snaps to duty beginning medical treatment however he along with the rest of the party realise their inventory is missing. A quick search along the shore Karel finds some while Shao finds the other sets. Although not completely intact seems everything important is there.
Karel hands Bon is healer's hit as he gets to work on the female Polder, Karel moves oppiset to tend to the male Polder. Both work fast with not much time to spare.
Bon Succeeds and stabilizes the female Polder but unfortunately Karel stumbles and the male Polder who was named Shulk passes on.

With the medial emergency over the rest of the party start surveying the area.

Istite tries to get a good view of the land, trying to locate signs of civilisation, however being down hill on the shore despite being 8ft tall he is unable to catch anything above the trees.

Terry and Paprika while searching notice a large amount of fresh tracks. Some belonging to humanoids, Lizard folk, then smaller sets belonging to a Polder or Gnome, and a massive swaying track similar to a serpent but on a much larger scale. The humanoid tracks leading up away from the shore, up hill into the forest while the smaller and serpent tracks lead into or out of the sea.

Shao gives it his best go trying to life the unconscious Crewmember but lacking strength he is unable. Silas comes to aid easily lifting the small lady and taking her with them.

A quick discussion and the party follow the tracks leading inland. They follow the tracks for just under 2 hours before coming to a main road where the tracks they were following vanish into a sea of travelled dirt, hooves, cart tracks and all manor of other footprints make it impossible to follow their trail anymore.
Checking the map the party figure out where they are, a choice o head south directly to town or keep going east to reach their camp. They decided to keep heading east.

Its two days travel, during witch time Merdan the Polder woman regains consciousness ad is brought up to speed on what happened.

Coming to a clearing they have arrived at the Guild's future stronghold. A couple of tents and some very basic supplies are held around a campfire. upon approach a small figure exits the tent. Another Polder but she was not dressed in any guild attire. she looked like a labourer or wanderer of sorts. As she sees the party she seems to begin packing up a few things as if read to leave

Meet seed

Set up tents

Fancy vegi stew

Terry tstruggles with tent

Party sets up camp

Merdan stuff

Party heads to town, does some exploring

Party split, Bon, Shao and Istite to the court house, Paprika, Silas, Terry, Karel to the tavern

Terry gets almost glassed.

Parika pays 5 gold for drinks and smooth things over

Silas approches some people ata table

the other three meet the Orc mayor and get some deets

The party meet back in the tavern for discussion, It sounds like the bandits come once a month and they may be raiding again tonight,

The party return to camp and begin preparations. setting up a single trap?, and SHao sets up a trip wire but miss interperates the direction

Sure enough the bandits arrive. The party make horrible stelth rolls but the banits have even worse eye sight

A fight breaks out when a banit actually manages to stand on the single bear trap

Shao punches a few to death

Istite cleaves a few to death

a bandit tries to throw its lantern at Isite and Silas but misses wildy, it starts a fire

Managed to defeat all of them and keep one alive for questioning

Put out the fire, Karel starts another small fire by accident but is put out with the rest

Tie up the bandit to a tree stump, turn in for the night.

8 scimitars

7 crossbows

67 gold

400 silver

Gold locket

Bone dice

2 healing potions

Hero Points

• Bon: keeping to his character's themes of proper burial and grave domain
• Shao: Providing good conissit RP during the whole session. Always takeing a small moment to voice the character no matter how small the movement was.

The party have made their first move for themselves, for the guild and for the town of Aqi Karion, Defeating the small party of bandits sent to raid the town and managing to take one alive as prisoner. They have made themselves known. People will now know they are adventurers to be looked upon, and forces unknown to them have been made to take notice.

Party wake up next morning, SHaod is on his back

The morning after their fight with the bandits the party awake well rested with their one (1) captive snoring away, tied to a tree stump. Discussion is had about how best to deal with the bandit, some mentions of just killing them now and others of turning them in, but Eventually all agree information is priority.

Paprika prepares breakfast while the other party members interogate.
Istite wakes up the bandit by pouring water from one of his many waterskins all over the Bandit, soaking him and sharply rousing the bandit from slumber.
Understandably the Bandit is rather tight lipped at first. “I ain't no Snith!, Besides i can't even read” which quickly deteriorates the interogation to get more threatening. Istite and Terry able to break him first asking about the letter they found on the bandit Captin's person.
“Alright Alright…i can read…its a shame i know…look, I haven't seen that letter before…but it rings a few bells. Some of the crew did come back with a whole bounty of loot a few days ago now. They probably got it from your shipwreck. But that's about all i know.”

Bon gets a good read that the bandit is telling the truth.

The Party ask about the location of the Bandits camp but he is unwilling to give up the information. Thats when Shao steps in. Istite Gets in real close with a short sword stabbed into the stump, a few inches from the bandits head. Then Shao comes up with his own knife and begins to take a different approach to threats. Talking about cooking and eating the bandit for breakfast. with Paprika in the background looking mighty pleased with this idea. Shao carves the bandit's cheek and he quickly crumbles answering any and all of the parties questions.
“ uu ahhhhh! alright JEEZE our camp is a few days north of here! oh oh and make sure you find Jimmy, he provides watch for the camp. if he sees you and gets away he will alert the camp. You will be looking for symbols carved into the trees. oh jeeze please don't eat me!”

The party satisfied with the info back off to discuss.
There are a few ideas to let the bandit go and track him, others want to kill him here and now and others want to turn him in as part of the bounty, though the bounty didn't offer any additional reward for alive bandits.

The Bandit makes an offer of some key information for his life.

The party take the bandit back to town and claim bounty

Bon uses detect good and evil

4 days travel to Hillside

Banshee and sagomancy

Terry tries to convince the party he can talk to animals (even with the spell) but the party gaslight him to hell

1 day to travel to cave and back

4 days travel back

Pay cleric, shoesd guy pays most

plans begin

sus cleric but he not so sus

Paprika makes a Deal with the tavern to earn the Deep via selling meals equal to 5000 gold.

extended rest start

Werewolf

Extended rest Downtime
Bon will cut trees in the stronghold area, talk with the cleric in town and see if he can pick up a tip or two on undead stuff, and look for herbs and poisonous creatures he may use to craft poisons, and ask merchants if they have a poison recipe he may buy from them.

Paprika will begin work in the kitchen, cleaning and preparing it for proper use.
Go huting with Terry for some basic meats
Maybe gatering with bon looking for herbs, vergies etc
Plans to rope Karel into helping her cok if she isnt doing anything.

Terry will be offering aid for the rest of the party. Hunting with Paprika, Chopping Trees in the stronghold clearing.
Terry will also begin putting together ideas for rebuilding the town's defences starting with te three watch towers as well as getting an idea for a path through the caprian mountians. he will also look foir the Chitling

Silas will be talking with the town guard captian to begin the process of recruiting and training more town guards.
He will also be helping remove some of the trees and keeping an eye on the cleric.

Istite Noting at the moment

Shao Wants to study his new book as well as clear some of the trees and elp rebuild some of the buildings in town. with the smith and general goods merchant looking to settle in town those would be two building to proritise

Karel Nothing at the moment

The party begin a week long rest where they will take the time away from the life threatening adventuring to do more basic and mundane tasks and take time to reflect on the experience they have earned up unto this point. However the first night of their rest the light of one of the full moons reveals a secret Paprika has been keeping from her party members. as there is a stand off between the party and a Werewolf Paprika.

Hero Points
like the session was so consistently good from all my players its really hard to think of stand out moments. There were certainly some but the rules of Hero points means those key moment's can't get another Hero point or the character already has a hero point. will come back to this

After the party have a bit of a event with the Werewolf Paprika the next morning begin's thier week long Exztended rest. the entire party dedicates some of their time to repairing a few key buildings in town including a General store, a smith and the guard house.

By the end of the week the cleric cleanses the town successfully.

After a bit of debrief where the party shares what they have learned over the week they all decided to carry on with their original plan and head south towords Reslak Outpost in order to chase up some opportunities for the town and find information about Mr Foolberry.

However on the 2nd night of travle during a New Moon, Karel decides to open up the strange book they found outside Waterlogged cave. At which point the entire party is sucked inside the book. waking up inside a refined manor.

The party meet an elderly blind orc who introduces himself as Sage Matreous Who expresses his gratitude that he gets to speak with other people.

The party begin exploring starting with the study. The room seems personal. Its cozy like coming home to a warm meal after a long day. The entire far wall of the study is a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf with Even more books resting on several large royal purple armchairs and small wooden tables.
there are several expertly created paintings on the walls depicting various scenes.
A fluffy black cat is curled up on one of the chairs which becomes alert as the party walk in.

The party explore the excersise room next. Istite takes a bandolier of darts from the weapon rack and gives it to Terry.

The party explore the room at the end being a personal library. Bon and shao run around and trigger combat with swarms of animated books.

The party go back into the hallway and speak with Sage Matreous

The party explore the kitchen and run into two (2) magically crafted homunculi that act as the servants of the manour. they are cooking without much meaning as te kitchen is full of assorted meals.

The party decided to try and take a short rest with a meal prepared by the homuncli, but as they get seated in the dining room one of the chairs turns out to be a mimic and attacks. almost killing Terry but Shao heroricly swoops in to save him.

The party have quickly become awear the are trapped in this Demi-plane. Though it seems they are onto te code to unlock the portal door back home. With 2 books found both blank aside from a single letter on the spine. 'I and B' The party still has more to find. yet The mansion seems to be out to get them with various monsters and traps they have encountered and they have yet to fully explore the place. Dow in the basement the party's search is interrupted by the snarling screeches of Mage Rippers in the doorway ready to strike.

Hero Points

• Istite: Was very entertaining through out the session, Had some stand out moments with he lamenting over the swords, his struggle with trusting the loot and his sturdiness in combat. He is also leaning into the “which way is north” bit. i am curious how it may evolve.
• Terry: I Enjoyed his performance with the Fairy Dragons as well as his involvement in combat, starting to use his abilities more efficiently and using his wings.
  (He Might Already have a Hero Point, If he does then it will go to Bon)
• Bon: Was very handy in combat with the healing and was very on point with the puzzle solving. Despite his desperation for a long rest he didn't force it upon the group and didn't become difficult to play with because the party didn't want to long rest. I have seen a number of players outside of this group be just as desperate to do something but the rest of the party wants to do something else so the player just shuts down and refuses to partake in the game. Bon didn't do that, very good.
  He also grabbed the Mage ripper corpse, thats interacting with the world in a way thats consistent with the character of Bon, good Role play.

Party fight mage rippers.

Silas catches up

Bon takes a mage ripper body, Paprika dosent find anything useful on them

Back upstairs Paprika gets a recipe

the party get caught in the garden fairy dragon shenanigins, Terry performs

The party start doing a second round of investigation. Checking the rooms they had already passed more thoroughly, Finding another puzzle book in the Library as well as some handy Guide books and a letter opener worth 20 gp.

The party head upstairs and reckon the display armour with a magical sword and helmet is a trap.

Heading east they enter the trophy room, but as soon as Silas touches something the door to the room slams shut and locks, locking Karel outside while the swords on display come to life.

After dealing with that the party keep going and finding the bedroom. Going through a few of the cubords its mostly full of clothes meant for a rather tall and busty woman from comparision. They find another puzzle book resting on the bed-side table as well as a broken staff inside a chest. Checking the balcony they get some good views.

Istite is peer-pressured into grabbing the magic sword they saw earlier. Saddened about destroying the swords earlier he is easily coaxed into it.

After leaving the book they find that not much time has past at all, the spent close to half a day inside the book but it seems only about an hour has past in the real world. They gather up and get a long rest.

There is discussion around the party on what to do next. With the loot and experience they have, some express an idea to head back to town for an extended rest, others wish to press on south, the ones they are looking to assist can't wait another week. Eventually its decided to continue south.

After another day of travel the party encounter a ominous scene, sevewral dead animals of various levels of decay and some broken carts. scenes of a hunting ground.
Shao recognizes one of the dead horses as the same horse Mrs Foolberry rode off on.

The parties planned journey south to Reslak Outpost has so far been plagued with inturptions.
After Escaping the Magic Demi-Plane contained within the Joy of Extradimensional Spaces the journey was once again interrupted. This time by Carrion Crawlers who did not hesitate to attack their next meal.
The fight was hard won but it was won none the less.
Though before leaving, survaying the area the party find evidence of somone they are looking for, and soon after distant cries for help could be herd in the direction the Crawlers came from. Dragging the party off the main road once again.

Hero Points

• Silas: Although he seems to be rather stuck on the fact he lost some XP last session he was rather helpful and in character this session. Despite being late to combat he was able to get in and make work. He also seemed to realise when it was time to cut losses and being the one to call for fleeing the fight but also helping his other party members. I think the fear of loosing XP has done its work as Caligos would have stood and let everyone die before running away. the big thing was him sacrificing his weapon to save Shao. Truly a heroic moment that is well deserved of a Hero point, A in character selfless act that holds great sacrifice, very good.
• Paprika: She was a solid performance throughout the session, starting to pick up on her whole cooking vibe that she based her character around, i would like her to really start working on that much more. She did some fishing and tried to buy some produce but she needs to be doing that much more often or at least working towards things. She has big ideas but is lagging behind getting them done. She has also been improving in combat thinking more about the environment, such as trying to set the wine on fire. although it didn't work that time i hope she continues to think outside the box like that, Hopefully this Hero point will provide some inspiration.

1st Wednesday of Seedwane
Picking up right where we left off, the party tend to their wounds and gather their compostior. Shao wakes up from his nap having missed the fight. The Call for help seems to be coming to the west, through the trees.
A sort treck through the untamed forest the party comes to a un-natural clearing. Various trees have been felled by some outside force and ahead a small natural cave. Still wounded from the fight the party are cautious to enter the cave, Taking some time to prepare an attack and try to lure out anything that may be lurking. They cannot yet see the one calling for help.
Paprika and Silas call out a few questions to confirm the identity of the woman calling for help, Once they are satisfied they enter to find Mrs Foolberry trapped in a cocoon of hard goo-like substance attacked to a wall.
Silas carefully cuts her free as he and Terry talk with her about the situation, she explains that she had gotten sick of waiting and went after her Husbaned on her own. When asked how many Carrio crawlers there were Mrs Foolberry says 3 or 4.

Karel instintivly looks up at the roof after hearing this information and sees the figure of a Carion crawler on the roof. Te party panic but after a bit more perception they realise that its only a molted shell. several other molted shells lay stuck to the roof.
Some of the party start investigating the other bodies. Finding some loot.

There is discussion about conducting proper burial rituals for the fallen, though with so many and in such a dangerous place it may not be wise to spend such time here especially since they are all still wounded from the previous fight. Before discussion can contine a slight tremmor in the ground gets the whole party moving out of the cave and back to the main road quickly, AGreeing to come back later for proper burials.

Back on the main Road the party decide to investigate a bit more, chining the bodies of animals for signs of infection, they find nothing out of the ordinary. As well as looting the remains or the carts. FInding more loot.
one item The Cloak of many fastions is eyed by both Paprika and Silas who cannot decide who wants it. so a contest of strenght is to be the deciding factor. Silas seems pretty confident until Paprika unleashes her Werewolf form to step up to the plate.
Despite Silas's early lead, Paprika comes through with a almost devestating win, earning her the Magic cloak.

1st Saterday of Seedwane
After 3 more days of traveling south the party arrive finally at Reslak Outpost
The small settlement comes into view rather naturally, through the red-leaf trees you see the shapes of humble stone and wood buildings. Smoke from chimnes rises into the sky as the road becomes more travelled. The sounds of the forest give way to general voices, the clangs and grunts of work.
The settlement is partially surrounded by a medium wooden wall. a few guards stand at the entrance which is a bit confusing when you see the size of this settlement. They are probably the only guards in this small village. You get the wiff of fresh water and fish. the aromour of farmland and crops. looking around you see many more people than you would have thought, the number of people outpaces the number of homes considerably.
Entering the village you quickly see the shore of Resting Lake just a few hundred feet away. Several small fishing boats bob in the water tied to the bank. lots of supplies line the houses near the lake.

Before Entering the settlement, the party take a quick opportunity to divy up the loot they have obtained. Silas claims a Ring of Truuth Telling which turns out to be cursed as it bites down on his finger, unable to be removed. Silas is cursed and is unable to knowingly tell a lie.

The party arrive in town and take the opportunity to split up. Some going to look for Mr Foolberry, some just geting familiar with the small settlement and others approaching the commotion going on.
There seems to be a bit of an argument between a Triton dressed in medical robes and a elderly Tabaxi woman who only speaks in old lady mumbles.

Paprika, Terry and shoa go fishisng

Bona nd silas do some medicen

Karel talks with the sage

Istite chills

1st Sunday of Seedwane
Next morning

the party head to the tomb

Fight insuues

Party retreat (34 XP from defeated Skeltons)

2nd Monday of Seedwane

Despite their defeat at the Tomb. The party were successful with their original goal. Having saved the Foolberry couple and escorting them as well as several villages back to Aqi Karion. The party take an Extended rest to reflect on what they have learned and realise they have learned enough to begin some advancement. reaching level 2

2nd Tuesday of Seedwane
Long rest at Reslak Outpost after Tomb

After Returning to Reslak outpost Terry notices a poster talking about a special archery competition being heled in a few months, The Reslak Fly finishing Competition. A Sudo-Archery Competition where competitors compete against one another, Fishing with only the use of a Bow and Arrows. Shooting fish and pulling them back to shore to fill a basket. The first to fill it complete with edible fish wins.
Prizes on offer are gold and a few magic items and a lavish feast that evening, the fish caught during the competition goes to the town.

2nd Wednesday - 3rd Monday of Seedwane
Journey north back to Aqi Karion

3rd Tuesday - 4th Monday of Seedwane
Extended Rest, becoming active agai on the following tuesday

Istite
Istite spends a few days at the Town Blacksmith doing some personal smithing of his own. This is istite's first time at a forge but it almost comes naturally to him. Even before he was well known for pulling together basic smithing work in his home tribe. The Ring of the hammer and the heat of fire seemed to sing to him, If only softly.
Over 2 days he manages to smith a new glaive for Silas

In-between his tasks at the smithy and other moments, Istite has begun to get a bit more grips on the town mine and its situation. The basics are still the same. The mine hasn't been used since the Ravaging, most of the workers have left town, the mine is partially collapsed blocking off 90% of it and there are numerous monsters prowling its darkness.
To get the mine up and running again Istite would have to

• obtained workers
• Tools and equipment for those workers
• Un-block the mines
• and clear out the monsters currently there.

He learned that the monsters were always a problem, its just part of the land. every few months the town used to hire Adventurers to clear out the minds when the monster population got too intense. like pruning a tree. so even once the numbers had been culled Istite had to keep in mind that eventually the culling would have to happen again and again. but its not so bad, a good source of monster supplies and experience for adventurers.

Istite also learns that the mines run into and under the Caprian mountains. there are stories of ancient catacombs that the mine breaks into at parts.
Resources from the minds are plentiful. sources of silver, iron and other ores. There has been decent amount of gemstones also.

Terry
While Terry is browsing the General store in town. He finds a book called 'Tales of Denrir'. A Story book that describes The floral dragon-born hero in the Feywild. The Sore gives it to Terry for Free after seeig is genuine excitement. “A Gift for our own Heros”

Scouting the Bandit Camp Terry heading north on one of his hunting trips takes the opportunity to scout out the bandit camp from the air. getting a good read o what they are actually up against, To his shock however the bandit camp is very hard to find, because there is almost noting left. a black scar on the land where fire burned. It seems some of the tents escaped been burned but lie damaged, from the elements or animals Terry can't tell from this highet, he would have to land to get a closer look.

as soon as Terry lands his sences are assulted by the smell of death and decay, followed closly by wet charcole. It seems the black mark was indeed from a fire, the campfire seems to have jumped its boundaries and let loose, however it didn't get far, perhaps the rains put it out soon after, rather lucky. It seemed to have happened a few weeks ago now, New plant life has already started to replace the burnt. two of the tents were caught in the place and only chared parts remain, but two smaller and one large tent did not ctac fire, however it seems they have been ransacked, by wildlife perhaps? and they were partially collapsed, from the quality of these tents Terry can teell there were never meant to stay up long. being exposed to the weather without any maintenance has worn them down and ruined them.

A few bodies lay about the camp, heavily decomposed, one was caught in the fire but from the sight of everything it seems they died before the fire went loose. however, 5 tents able to house at least 10-15 people in total, but only three bodies, Where did the rest go?

There is also a number of cages behind the largest tent, meant to house humanoids or larger creatures it seems. two of the cages are open while the rest are closed. one of the closed cages has a body of a small humanoid inside heavily decomposed like the others. seems like it was a prisoner who died a prisoner.

Going through the contents of the camp Terry finds nothing of use. The food is spoiled, the weapons have rusted, other parts of the camp were caught in the blaze and burnt to charcoal. One thing Terry does notice is tat the goods have been ransacked before him. Evidence of wildlife taking food but many draws and more obviously sighs that humanoids have been here looking for valuables.

Terry has a look over the bodies, He sees evidence that wildlife as indeed tried to take a bite or two of the flesh but either spat it out or decided not to commit. Being around Bon these past few months Terry picks up some familiar signs of poison. Seems te bodies were heavily poisoned making the body itself unsafe to eat for any passing wildlife. it must be strong stuff for even predators to realise something is a miss.

Having a look around the camp for tracks Terry finds little information, The weather, time and nature of the area means anything that might give clues has been eroded away by time and the footprints of other creatures. One thing he dose notice however is a number of arrows, more importantly his own arrows. Terry makes his own arrows a specific way and there are a number of them throughout the camp. but he ever fired them.

Paprika

Paprika takes the opportunity to talk with the labourers about getting her own personal kitchen made. She spends a few days going over the plans, size and details then getting it made in camp.

She goes to the farmers and the generals store to purchase a number of ingredients for cooking.

Talking with Bon they discuss possible ways to create some sort of refrigeration.

She spends some of her days testing out a new recipe, crafting a recipe for a desert called Flann. a custard desert with sweet sauce. In an effort to get on Karel's good side as she notice she has an affinity for the dish during their time when trapped in the magic book.

Bon

Bon spends a day Refining Carion Crawler Venom into a usable poison known as 'Crawler Mucus' he only makes one vial however due to finance issues.

Study Mage Ripper Bon spends a few days studying and refining the Mage ripper body. Running several tests and recording his findings eventually he is able to hypothesis and create the first batch of Mage Bane. A Posion that saps the magical spell slot energy from a spellcaster on injury.

Bon goes down to the general store to buy a new healer's hit as his current one is almost spent.

He spends some time doing odd jobs around the town, earning some gold for his efforts

Karel
Perform around Town

Look for a Library, Looking for info on Lady Raveneye and the pendent

Shopping for Spell Scrolls and Gravity Magic

Talking with Merdan

Talking with Sage Maretos

Buy a journal and do odd jobs

Silas
Sell old armour, Buy scale mail

Ask around about things

Shao

He spends some free time every day going around town to get to know the towns people better, They start knowing him by name and he them, they even offer him a few food items as thank you for his work so far and the appreciate his effort.
Thanks to his effort the town guard has increased in size. going from 4 to 8 members. most still in training but any sword arm is better than none.

Non-Personal Events

Other Adventurers
a trio of adventurers comes through town during the rest. They seem eager and excited perhaps they are newish. They seem to be about the same experience as the party. The Party notice they take a job from the notice board, the job involving the Troll at Waterlogged Cave. If the Party isn't quick enough, jobs may be completed by other adventurers. But new jobs are sure to come along. And there is always the possibility that the new adventurers will fail, leaving the job open still.

Tensions from the Forest
The labourers got to work almost right away when brought into town, they set up their supplies and began building and repairing right away. alot of homes first so they had somewhere to sleep. The Work required new lumber and so the nearby forest was used. However one trip was interrupted by an attack from Wode Elves it seems the new logging might have upset them or the loggers strayed too close to their territory. whatever the reason, a new problem has arisen that needs urgent tending too. Though no one was killed this time. Wode Elves are the most aggressive among elven people and they may try to attack more directly soon. Perhaps a diplomatic solution is in order or to simply whipe them out. that's up to the party to decided. Whatever they decide they best do it soon before the situation worsens.

Tavern Destruction
One morning the party is disturbed by a large commotion i town. They quickly hurry through the trees to find a group of elite guards are marking through the streets, aggressively asking citizens questions while showing a poster depicting a portrait. These are no normal guards, equiped with high quality gear that could be worth a fortune. If they were coordinated enough they could take the whole town.
In the middle of the group is a very tall woman who looks to be an elf but she is covered up and wearing a cloak so its hard to tell, though the large pointed ears are a sign many species have similar large pointed ears.

The Party approach the guards drawing their attention. they are quickly set upon and roughly handled while being questioned. The poster in question depict the Cleric Averntus who was at the town some month ago cleansing the land.
The questions and beavior are aggressive, some of the party try to shove back and resist. Terry is tackled to the ground and restrained with ease.
The party confirm they know the cleric and tell the guards of what their relation is and what he was doing here. when asked for proof the general store owner is called.
after going a bit around with questions the 'Elven' woman seems to whisper some words to a guard. afterwards he speaks to the party letting them know the cleric is dead. Killed on the north-east road from Aqi-Karion, about half a day past waterloged cave. They have strong suspicion it was murder as the cleric was highly skilled and wouldn't fall to an accident or a typical monster attack.
Magical pictures are shown of the body, splattered across the ground and against a tree as if hit by a tremendous force. its a gruesome sight.

There is discussion as it seems Paprika might know something, but for one reason or another she is not co-operating. after several threats and just before a fight was about to break out Paprika finally speaks of one suspicious event she was privy too for some time. saying she overheard a convocation with the tavern keeper and an unknown person, there were talks all sounding like they were relating to the murder of the cleric. money being handed over, secrets being kept.
After that the guards confirm where the tavern keeper is and go to storm the tavern. Istite, bon and Terry all go wit the guards. They bust down the door to find the tavern completely dark. but he similar smell of gunpowder quickly fills the nose. a warning call from Istite is all that can happen before the whole tavern erupts in a fiery explosive force, splinters of wood fly through the air as the shockwave blows a few back. smoke pillars into the sky from the roaring fire but is quickly snuffed out by the rain. Despite the violet destruction no-one is lethally injured.
The guards investigate and prevent the party from assisting. they eventually find a hidden passageway under the floorboards leading to a network of tunnels going various directions, the weeks of rain have partially flooded the tunnels so no tracks and no scents could be traced.

The next day the group of guards leave town, one group going North-East and the other (Including the 'Elf') go North.

Sister heading home
A Unique visitor comes into town, hard to miss. a Giant duck pulling a cart waddles into town with surprising speed for a Duck. the one holding the reigns a short tabaxi woman wit snow white fur, long curly cherry purple-red hair and large long bunny ears. She is rather chubby with a large witchy/ mage hat, purple dress and well crafted mages staff. She pulls over in town to get some supplies and make some last minuet sales when Paprika recognises her. Her Younger sister Coco
They embrace in a warm reunion as they quickly catch up. Neither of them knew the other would be here. Paprika introduces Coco to the party.
Coco explains she lives at the edge of misty lake, about an hour out of Hillside Aqi. She stays there during the Wet Season. As a powerful Druid she spends the time here expanding her craft, selling her wares/ services and enjoying the country. But the wet season is ending soon so Coco is heading to the family home in Needlewood which is in the nation of Reton.
She is heading south to the Dwarven city in Borikan's crater where she is taking a Teleportation circle to the capital then jumping on a boat.
She tells Paprika about this new Potential Boyfriend material she met in the major city Felvor. a rather dignified if nerdy Orc man by the name of Salvador. who specialises in magic item repair. the sauce is saucy indeed.

The party give her a warning of potential danger on the road, for all that's happened in town there is a dangerous killer on the loose or even multiple. Coco stresses the party not to worry, she is more than capable. a Powerful Mage and can handle any ruffians that come her way.
She also adds she can't delay. her schedule is tight and she is aiding others with teleportation travel who had paid upfront, she can't be late to their meeting.
Shao picks up that maybe these people taking a teleportation travel are the same criminals that are on the run, making a clean getaway. There is discussion about what to do with this possibility but eventually the party come to the conclusion they currently do not have the resources to move that far south that quickly.
Goodbyes are shared and Coco promises to send a letter to Paprika when she is back home. she also reminds everyone she will be back in 6 months when the wet season starts again.

A fancy meeting from time
during the night. the party member on watch notices that the moons haven't moved across the sky as normal. and a cause for alarm when the sun rises into he sky to join the two moons. Something is wrong. Waking the rest of the party they all get up and start to notices other strange things, there are no sounds of wildlife, no wind. and more noticeable the rain, as if frozen is place the rain all around them is frozen in place, the drops still, like glass, frozen in time.
Going into town is a similar story, those who were awake are stuck, frozen in a walking position, others in convocation with words that will never come. even the flame on the torches while still gives light, the flame doesn't not flicker, it stays still like stone.
The party notice an extravagant palatine begin to move into view. suspended above the ground, floating on air, with nothing pulling it along it simply sees to move on its own. draped in thin silk sheets the palatine is rectangular in shape. tall and so extravagantly decorated it seems…out of this world.
There is a fuzzy siloete of a figure within but its impossible to discern its nature. Some of the party tense up however the nature of the phenomenon going on most conclude that they would be no match for something that can stop time like this.
Some of the party notice Silas fiddling with his neck, looking confused and worried but also angry. He shoves an item into his pocket they cannot see.

The palatine stops before the party. The doors do not open but behave like a wall of liquid metal. as a claw slowly passes through this fuzzy window, like a person stepping through a gelatinous cube. Then another claw as everyone quickly recognised the gigantic form of a dragon, But no normal dragon. something alien looking. Wings, tail, claws horns check but bather in an ethereal substance like liquid light. and more striking, no eyes. The wings shifted in colours like ripples in water, the very aura of the dragon seemed to cause temporal disturbances as the space around warped and twisted unnaturally, impossibly. The party quickly backed up as to not get caught in a temporal anomaly.
5 giant eye balls hovered around the dragon's eyeless head. each looking around on its own, two of the eyes focused on the party while the others scanned the area and the sky.
The dragon was far bigger than the Palatine, how did it fit in there? common knowledge about dragons is their ability to change shape however this dragon made no such ability clear.

When the dragon speaks its a feminine voice that sounded the way a mortal would imagen the stars to sing if they could, but several voices speaking out of sync, one after the other over lapping, each saying synonyms of the other. The dragon bows but at that moment it duplicates as another exactly like it conducts a different bow and a third image dose not bow at all. as its time lines split or waver slightly. before they resynchronise and become one being once again.

Farmer Attacked! Book Stolen
Close to the end of the rest the party are awoken by lound commpotion coming from the farms of town. RUshing over they run into a chaotic sight. The farmer family seems to have been robbed, The father and young son injured during the ordeal. Its the same family that Terry met during the last extended rest. Bon Hurries over to heal up thier wounds and gets information about what happened.
4 Humanoid figures. dressed in black cloaks, tails, about the hight of a dwarf. Broke through a window into the Son's bedroom. He was reading that 'fancy book' we got while in Aqi-Sumah. they smashed and attacked the son, swiping the book from the Son, scratching him in the tussel, before they could make their escape the father burst into the room wielding an axe and managed to hit one of the assailant. he was struck back then the four figures fled the house into the darkness.
Tracks can be seen but wit the constant rain they have mostly lost their shape and its impossible to tell if hey were human or something else.

The Deep Water
Late one night, the party member on watch spies a figure with glowing eyes exiting the water at the deep pond. it notices its been see and quickly ducks back into the water disappearing into the deep dark. The party member goes over to investigate but sees nothing aside from the ripple of disturbed water.

New Quest Board Quests

• My Mate went to visit the old hunting lodge and hasn't returned
• The Mayor plans to hold a small festive celebration for the season change. everything has been arrange but he needs a fine treasure for the pie eating contest. something shiny and valuable to be awarded to the victor. he offers a rare magic item in exchange.

4th Tuesday - 4th Tursday of Seedwane
Level Up montage, becoming active again on 4th Friday of Seedwane

4th Friday of Seedwane
The Rain has not stopped since the party left Reslak Outpost. Despite the Wet season nearing its end it seems the rains won't go out without a fight.
After the rather eventful extended rest the party have almost too many options, too many hooks to take. But after discussion they go with the original plan and head north to Aqi Sumah.

4th Saterday of Seedwane
Towards the end of their 2nd day of travel, the party is set upon by a Werecat calling itself Murshuka as well a a small pack of Giant rats under its command.
A sort fight ensues, Though the party took some wounds they were ultimately victorious.

The party search the body of Murshuka to find some gold as well as a thin note book marked with a symbol Bon recognises as the symbol for the criminal guild organisation Blackfyre.
The book is a hit list with several pages crossed out and unlegible but three are yet to be marked.

• A Page with a portrait of Paprika as well as her name and some details
• A page with a portrait of a human or elf? its hard to tell wit the name Silas as well as some details
• a page wit a portrait of some large monstrous creature, Like a Lizard-Folk from a primal age. the name listed is Gorescale

The Book holds no other information but is a key clue. it seems at least one of the party members has gotten on someone's bad side.

4th Sunday of Seedwane - 1st Tuesday of Firemoot
The rest of the trip goes by uneventfully until the city of Aqi Sumah comes into view. Where we leave off that session.

After a journey north the party reach the major town of Aqi-Sumah, chasing leads, thieves and skills to aid them in their future endevours.